Football Preview: Morehead Panthers vs. West Stokes Wildcats
Morehead hasn't had much luck against West Stokes recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Morehead Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the West Stokes Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. Both are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Having struggled with 14 defeats in a row dating back to last season, Morehead finally turned things around against McMichael on Friday. They claimed a resounding 27-0 victory over the Phoenix on the road. The Panthers' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Braxton Carter looked great while leading his team to the win, rushing for 114 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Morehead was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 246 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Morehead's defense and their three sacks. Leading the way was Quadir Rodgers with two.
Meanwhile, West Stokes waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Red Raiders 33-0 at home. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 81st, while the Red Raiders are ranked 231st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Lindann Fleming, who rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries, and also picked up 57 receiving yards and a touchdown. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 101.6 rushing yards per game. Another player making a difference was Aydden Cherry, who rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
Morehead's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-4. As for West Stokes, they pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season.
Morehead was dealt a bruising 52-6 loss at the hands of West Stokes in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Morehead was down 36-6.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
